National retail chain Poundland Ltd has been told to pay around £20,000 in fines and costs for serious fire safety contraventions at one of its stores.
The breaches found were so severe that the outlet, on Commercial Road, Portsmouth, was evacuated immediately until they were fixed, a spokesperson for Hampshire Fire and Rescue service told info4fire.
Investigators visiting the property in November 2008 found that there had been a failure to provide adequate training to a temporary store manager and that fire exits were not kept clear of storage.
The case finally went to Portsmouth Magistrates Court last Friday (4 February).
It took around two years to complete due to “interviews and discussions” taking place with the store manager and the responsible person, the spokesman said.
“This was a complex one as we had to deal with the individual store manager and his solicitor as well as the responsible person,” they said.
There were four breaches of Fire Safety Order made in total, each costing Poundland £3,250.
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